Capita Group

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much business her Department has placed with (a) Capita Group plc and (b) its subsidiaries in each of the last five years; what the total value is of outstanding contracts placed with Capita Group plc and its subsidiaries by her Department; for which current tenders issued by her Department (i) Capita Group plc and (ii) its subsidiaries have been invited to bid; and whether (A) Capita Group plc and (B) its subsidiaries have seconded staff (1) temporarily and (2) on a longer-term basis to (X) her Department and (Y) any of its agencies.

Jim Knight: From information held centrally, the core-Department has dealt with seven Capita Group plc subsidiaries over the financial years 2001–02 to 2005–06 (April 2005 to December 2005) inclusive. The value of these contracts is as follows:
	
		
			  Financial years 
			 Vendor name 2001–02 2003–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 (April to December) Total 
		
		
			 Capita Business Services Ltd. 511,230.76 406,048.24 467,751.86 505,693.43 21,749.45 1,912,473.74 
			 Capita DBS Ltd. 440,211.10 10,635.32 — — — 450,846.42 
			 Capita Health Solutions Ltd. — — — — 8,263.19 8,263.19 
			 Capita HR and Financial Resourcing — — — 14,747.63 — 14,747.63 
			 Capita Property Consultancy Ltd. — 82,663.84 75,209.37 — — 157,873.21 
			 Capita Resourcing Ltd. — — — 40,774.76 313,935.31 354,710.07 
			 Capita Symonds Ltd. 138,426.68 — — 80,670.48 216,581.51 435,678.67 
			 Total 1,089,868.54 499,347.40 542,961.23 641,886.30 560,529.46 3,334,592.93 
		
	
	The core-Department does not hold information centrally of what the total value is of outstanding contracts placed with Capita Group plc and its subsidiaries by the Department and the information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Similarly, the core-Department does not hold information centrally of which current tenders issued by the Department that Capita Group plc and its subsidiaries have been invited to bid against. From information held centrally, the core-Department is unaware of any staff from Capita Group plc and its subsidiaries being seconded either temporarily or on a longer term basis to the core-Department.
	The core-Department does not hold information centrally identifying contracts and contractual expenditure with Capita Group and its subsidiaries by each of its non-departmental public bodies, executive agencies, independent statutory bodies and organisations and bodies financially sponsored by the core-Department.

Capita Group

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the value of contracts held by her Department with (a) Capita plc and (b) its subsidiaries was in the last three financial years.

Jim Knight: From information held centrally, the core-Department has dealt with a total of seven Capita Group plc subsidiaries over the financial years 2001–02 to 2005–06 (April 2005 to December 2005) inclusive. The figures are as follows:
	
		
			  Financial years 
			 Vendor name 2001–02 2003–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 (April to December) Total 
		
		
			 Capita Business Services Ltd. 511,230.76 406,048.24 467,751.86 505,693.43 21,749.45 1,912,473.74 
			 Capita DBS Ltd. 440,211.10 10,635.32 — — — 450,846.42 
			 Capita Health Solutions Ltd. — — — — 8,263.19 8,263.19 
			 Capita HR and Financial Resourcing — — — 14,747.63 — 14,747.63 
			 Capita Property Consultancy Ltd. — 82,663.84 75,209.37 — — 157,873.21 
			 Capita Resourcing Ltd. — — — 40,774.76 313,935.31 354,710.07 
			 Capita Symonds Ltd. 138,426.68 — — 80,670.48 216,581.51 435,678.67 
			 Total 1,089,868.54 499,347.40 542,961.23 641,886.30 560,529.46 3,334,592.93

Capita Group

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many tenders (a) Capita plc and (b) its subsidiaries have submitted to her Department in each of the last three years; and how many tenders were successful.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not held centrally by the core-Department and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Capita Group

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many contracts her Department holds with (a) Capita plc and (b) its subsidiaries which still have a potential duration of five years or more.

Jim Knight: From information held centrally, no contracts between the core-Department and Capita Group plc and its subsidiaries have a potential duration of five years or more.

Farming Link

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost was of (a) production and (b) distribution of the latest edition of her Department's Farming Link publication; and how many copies were produced.

Jim Knight: The cost of producing the March edition of farmer's Link was £70,505. It was circulated to 170,000 recipients, including all farmers and growers.
	This means that the March edition—which included 31 different news items and articles—cost around 41 pence per copy.

Oil Seed Rape

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many acres were given over to the growing of oil seed rape in England in the last five years.

Jim Knight: The information is as follows:
	
		Hectares
		
			  Winter oilseed rape Spring oilseed rape 
		
		
			 2001 306,405 60,793 
			 2002 305,770 18,733 
			 2003 367,014 55,365 
			 2004 386,515 68,911 
			 2005 455,173 24,781

Higher Education

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many people in Coventry, South went on to higher education in (a) 2004 and (b) 2005; and what proportion went to university.

Bill Rammell: The latest available figures on participation in higher education by constituency were published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England in January 2005 in "Young Participation in England", which is available from their website at: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2005/05_03/ This report shows participation rates for young people who enter higher education aged 18 or 19, disaggregated by constituency, for the years 1997 to 2000. It does not distinguish between those who entered universities and those who entered other higher education institutions. The figures for Coventry South, and the comparable figure for England, are shown in the table. HEFCE have not produced figures beyond 2000.
	
		Young Participation Rate (YPR (A)) in higher education
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 
		
		
			 Year cohort aged 18 in Coventry  South (number) 1,100 1,150 1,150 1,110 
			 Participation rate for Coventry  South(2) (percentage) 32 32 32 32 
			 Participation rate for England  (percentage) 29.2 28.8 29.2 29.9 
		
	
	(2) Participation rates for constituencies are reported to the nearest whole number.
	Source:
	Higher Education Funding Council for England.
	The total numbers of entrants from Coventry South for each year since 2001/02 are given in the table:
	
		Entrants to undergraduate courses from Coventry South
		
			  2001/02 2002/03 2003/04 2004/05 
		
		
			 Aged 18–19 445 420 425 485 
			 Aged over 19 570 695 775 930 
			 Total entrants 1,015 1,115 1,200 1,415 
		
	
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5.
	The Department uses the Higher Education Initial Participation Rate (HEIPR) to assess progress on increasing first-time participation of English students aged 18–30 in higher education towards 50 per cent.: the latest provisional figure for 2004/05 is 42 per cent. The HEIPR is not calculated at constituency level.

Sure Start

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the total expenditure on (a) Sure Start and (b) Children's Centres was in each year since 2001–02; what expenditure is planned in each category in each year to 2008–09; and if she will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Details of actual and planned expenditure on Sure Start, childcare and nursery education to 2007–08 are published in Table 12.2 of the Department for Education and Skills' Departmental Report (Cm 6522). To reflect the increasing integration of services for young children and families, from 2003–04 funding for childcare and nursery education was merged into Sure Start funding:
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Financial Year Sure Start Childcare Nursery Education Total 
		
		
			 2001–02 134 109 224 467 
			 2002–03 216 158 306 680 
			 2003–04(5) 721 721 
			 2004–05(6) 927 927 
			 2005–06 1,140 1,140 
			 2006–07 1,696 1,696 
			 2007–08 1,809 1,809 
		
	
	(5) From 2003–04, all funding to deliver the free nursery education entitlement was incorporated into what is now called the Early Years element of the of the Dedicated Schools' Grant (formerly known as the under 5 sub-block for the Education Formula Spending Share).
	(6) Outturn in DfES Resource Accounts 2004–05 (HC 686)
	Within the Sure Start budget, increasing amounts of money have been allocated to local authorities to help establish our network of Children's Centres, delivering a wide range of early learning, childcare, health and family support. The delivery of 1st phase Children's Centres began in 2003–04 with £1.9 million revenue and £2.2 million capital being spent by local authorities on Children's Centres in that year. For the period 2004–06, the memorandum of grant letter to all local authorities allocated £111 million revenue and £315 million capital over the two year period to continue the delivery of phase 1 Children's Centres. In addition to this funding, we allocated £313 million capital to Sure Start local programmes (SSLP) in 2004–06 and we expect that this budget would have been largely used to facilitate the evolution for all SSLPs to become Children's Centres.
	For 2006–08, we have streamlined the majority of funding streams within the General Sure Start Grant (GSSG) to give local authorities more flexibility in facilitating local childcare markets and developing early years and childcare services to deliver the Ten Year Childcare Strategy. The GSSG main revenue and capital allocations are £596 million and £421 million in 2006/07 and £664 million and £392 million in 2007/08. The GSSG allocations are for local authorities to fund children centres and provide support for extended schools and sustainable early years and childcare provision to meet parental demand for childcare in their local areas. Local authorities have the freedom to decide how much they wish to spend on each area based on the knowledge of their local market.
	Allocations from 2008 onwards will only be announced in the comprehensive spending Review 2007.

Training Schools

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many schools in the (a) primary and (b) secondary sector will lose their designation as training schools in 2007.

Bill Rammell: From 2005, participation in the training schools programme is open to schools that successfully re-designate and meet the high performing specialist schools criteria.
	Seven secondary schools which re-designated in 2005 did not meet the criteria and have been told that their funding will cease when their current contract comes to an end in 2007. A further tranche of secondary schools will re-designate in 2006 and we do not yet know how many of these will meet the necessary criteria.
	Those training schools that are not yet specialist have been told that they should aim to become specialist schools before their contract expires.
	We are considering with the Training and Development Agency (IDA) how to retain in the system the expertise built up by existing training schools.
	Primary schools will no longer be able to apply directly for training school status, but the IDA are currently considering the development of a primary initiative.

University Lecturers (Industrial Action)

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the effect of university lecturers' industrial action on (a) university graduations and (b) university students in 2005–06.

Bill Rammell: We have made no such assessment. It is a matter for higher education institutions (HEIs), as autonomous bodies, to make these assessments and consider how best they can minimise the adverse effects of the current dispute. HEIs are responsible for determining their own academic and administrative affairs, including deciding what to pay their own staff. Pay and conditions of service are subject to negotiations between employers, their staff and their representative trade union bodies. The Government plays no part in this.
	The Government would encourage both employers and unions to reach a speedy resolution in relation to the current dispute, to ensure minimal further disruption to students.

University Lecturers (Industrial Action)

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations the Department has received from (a) individual students and (b) student bodies relating to the industrial action taken by university lecturers; and if she will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The Department has received correspondence about university staff pay and the current dispute from students. However, as universities are autonomous, they are responsible for determining their own academic and administrative affairs, including deciding what to pay their own staff. Pay and conditions of service are subject to negotiations between employers, their staff and their representative trade union bodies. The Government plays no part in this.

Ethiopia

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he has made to the Ethiopian Government on the need to release prisoners currently held without charge.

Ian Pearson: We have consistently urged the Ethiopian Government either to charge or release detainees. My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Lord Triesman of Tottenham, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development have both made clear to Prime Minister Meles the need for a prompt, fair and open judicial process for those currently detained.

Sri Lanka

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the progress of the UK's support for the Peace and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka strategy.

Gareth Thomas: The British Government supports peace building and reconciliation in Sri Lanka through a variety of programmes and activities. Its peace building and Reconciliation Strategy aims to describe the activities needed to establish the conditions necessary to sustain peace in Sri Lanka. It supports and complements the Norwegian facilitation between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The Strategy is agreed across the three Government Departments involved in the Global Conflict Prevention Pool and informs decisions on dispersing funds from that pool in Sri Lanka.
	Our programme includes support for UNICEF, OXFAM and Save the Children Fund, we are working to improve the access and quality of basic health and education services for communities in conflict affected districts. The goal is to ensure that these services are provided equitably across Sri Lanka, thus addressing one long held grievance, and to help return communities to normal peacetime conditions. Under these programmes 75,000 emergency education kits have been provided to schools in the North and East, student drop out rates have reduced by 50 per cent. and over 1,800 child soldiers have been returned to their families. Psychosocial care is provided to these and other children affected by the conflict. Measles, Polio and DPT (Diphtheria-polio-tetanus immunization) vaccination has been provided for all children in conflict affected areas and vitamin supplements to 90 per cent. of children. Some 88 per cent. of pregnant and lactating women now receive ante-natal care and nutrition supplements.
	To establish a more secure environment in the North and East, support for de-mining and mine awareness is provided through the United Nations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This has helped encourage some 500,000 conflict displaced people to return to their homes. Their return has been supported with grants of material and tools to rebuild homes and restart their livelihoods.
	We are also working with NGOs and civil society groups to reduce tensions within communities and to promote their resolution without resort to violence, including the implementation of an early warning mechanism to mitigate and prevent conflict in the east of Sri Lanka. To help these communities enjoy a more secure environment within which to pursue their livelihoods, we are working with the police and the security services to improve their awareness of human rights and adherence to international humanitarian law. Under the strategy, we also assist the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission to provide increased access to justice for disadvantaged groups. Through the Asia Foundation, we are helping to strengthen legal institutions and processes at a local and national level by improving language skills for court staff, improving paralegal and advocacy skills for community based organisations and funding research into discrimination. This programme also includes support for public interest litigation relating to the protection of civil rights including for internally displaced persons (IDPs).
	We also provide support for peace building and reconciliation through our diplomatic engagement. The Government of Sri Lanka have expressed gratitude for Britain's constructive contribution in this area.

Departmental Televisions

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many television sets are in operation in the Department (a) in total, (b) in Ministers' private offices and (c) in each building in the Department; and how many television licences are held by the Department.

Peter Hain: In total there are 11 TVs in operation at The Wales Office. Three of these are in the Ministers private offices. There are nine in the London office and one in the Cardiff Office. There are two TV Licences held by The Wales Office.

Energy Efficiency

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps he is taking to increase energy efficiency within his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Peter Hain: As part of the machinery of Government Changes in June 2003 the Wales Office became a separate entity within the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) The Wales Office is fully covered by the commitments outlined in the DCA's Sustainable Development Policy, which is on the DCA website:
	http://www.dca.gov.uk/dept/sustaindev/sustaindev.htm
	Locally the Wales Office has reinforced the need for all staff to be energy efficient by ensuring senior managers remind their teams, reissuing staff instructions to turn off all electrical equipment when not in use and deploying posters and publicity material from the Carbon Trust near electrical equipment and light switches.
	We have contacted the Carbon Trust who has agreed to carry out an energy audit of the office. We have provided Carbon Trust with all relevant materials needed and await a date from them for a visit.

Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what his Department's employer contribution rates to the Principal Civil Service pension scheme are; what assumed rate of return underlies those contribution rates; and what the contribution rate would be if the assumed rate of return was in line with current redemption yield on index-linked gilts.

Peter Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by my hon. Friend, the Under-Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Murphy) on 29 March 2006, Official Report, column 1030.

World Cup (Complimentary Tickets)

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many complimentary tickets his Department has received for games taking place at the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany.

Peter Hain: None. I will not be attending 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany.

Business Links

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what penalties there are for contractors breaking the statutory requirements of the Business Links service.

Alun Michael: There are no specific statutory instruments under which the Business Link services are provided. Business Link must comply with all statutory requirements set out in relevant Acts of Parliament.
	In addition, organisations delivering Business Link services receive funding from the regional development agencies on a contractual basis. The terms of these contracts provides the regional development agencies with the right of suspension or claw back of funding.
	The Business Link contract, originally agreed between the DTI and Business Link providers, has been managed by the regional development agencies since April 2005, and contains provisions for termination and breach.

Gas Supplies

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to his statements during the debate on 14 March 2006, Official Report, column 1303, on 16 February 2006, Official Report, column 1551 and on 12 January 2006, Official Report, column 486, on gas supply, how he calculated the figures regarding the costs of energy to British and German industry.

Malcolm Wicks: The statement on 12 January,
	"Our liberalised markets mean that the cost of industrial gas is also competitive. In the past 14 years, the cost of energy to British industry has been around £8 billion less than the cost to German industry"
	referred to the difference in cost were UK industry to have paid German prices for the gas they consumed over the period 1990 to 2004. The statistics for the prices to UK and German industries were taken from the TEA publication 'Energy Prices and Taxes' and Ofgem estimates, while the consumption of UK industry was taken from the IEA publication 'Energy Statistics of OECD countries'. A similar exercise undertaken by Ofgem came to the same figure.
	The statement on 16 February,
	"over the past 10 years British companies have paid £9 billion less for their energy than German companies, for instance, but there is an issue here that we need to tackle"
	referred to the difference in cost were UK industry to have paid German prices for the gas and electricity they consumed over the period 1995 to 2004. The statistics for the prices to UK and German industries were taken from the IEA publication 'Energy Prices and Taxes', while the consumption of UK industry was taken from the IEA publication 'Energy Statistics of OECD countries'.

Telephone Preference Service Regulations

Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what process was used to grant the contract to manage the telephone preference service registers to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA); and if he will place in the Library correspondence between his Department and the DMA on the matter.

Alun Michael: The matter raised is the responsibility of the Office of Communications (Ofcom). Ofcom is the independent regulatory for the communications sector, deriving its main powers and duties directly from statute rather than by delegation from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, and accountable to Parliament in its own right. The Chief Executive of Ofcom has pointed out that under the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 ("the Regulations") Ofcom is required to maintain registers of the numbers allocated to subscribers who have notified Ofcom that they do not for the time being wish to receive unsolicited communications for direct marketing purposes by means of telephone (Telephone Preference Service) or fax (Fax Preference Service). Ofcom is permitted by the Regulations to make arrangements for the provision of the registers to be discharged by some other person.
	Ofcom undertook a full, competitive and open tender process prior to the award of the contract to Telephone Preference Service Limited (TPSL). The invitation to tender can be accessed at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/about/jobs/contracts_tenders/mngd_fax_tgel_reg/.
	The invitation to tender includes: the aims and objectives for the registers; services and tender retirements; and minimum criteria for evaluation of tenders. I am informed by Ofcom that eight companies expressed an interest in tendering for the new contract, although three tenders were actually received by Ofcom. Having evaluated the tender and interviewed the bidders, Ofcom decided to award the new contract to TPSL the existing provider of the registers.
	Accordingly, my officials have asked the Chief Executive Officer of Ofcom to reply to the hon. Member and to send me a copy of his response. Copies of the Chief Executive's letter will also be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Bank Accounts

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Coventry South did not have access to a bank account on 31 December (a) 2005 and (b) 1997.

Ivan Lewis: The most recent data available that allows assessment to be made of the number of households with no access to a bank account is the Family Resources Survey from 2002–03. This indicates that 8 per cent. of households in the United Kingdom had no bank account of any kind. This equated to 1.9 million households containing around 2.8 million adults. This data is broken down to Government Office regional level. This shows 10 per cent. of households in the West Midlands were unbanked.
	In 1997–98, the Family Resources Survey was collected on a Great Britain basis, excluding Northern Ireland. 8 per cent. of households in the West Midlands were unbanked at that time compared to 8 per cent. of households in Great Britain as a whole.
	In December 2004, the Government and the banks agreed to work together towards the goal of halving the number of adults in households with no access to a bank account of any kind and of making significant progress within two years. The Financial Inclusion Taskforce has been asked to monitor progress. The taskforce recently made its first annual report, which concluded that steady progress has been made towards the goal but also encouraged banks to continue to address the difficulties faced in opening a bank account.

Birth Rate (UK/EU)

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the European Union about falling birth-rates; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 April 2006
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question about what discussions have taken place with the European Union about falling birth rates. (64021)
	The National Statistics Centre for Demography at ONS participates, with colleagues in other European countries and at Eurostat, in scientific discussions of fertility trends across Europe. In particular, there have been consultations between Eurostat and member states on the fertility assumptions underlying Eurostat's latest set of population projections for EU member states.

Earnings (Southend, West)

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average earnings of (a) full-time and (b) part-time employees in Southend, West constituency were in April in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 April 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to ask what the average earnings of a) full-time and b) part-time employees in Southend West constituency were in April in each year since 1997. (64196)
	Average earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), and are provided for employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence. This is the standard definition used for ASHE. The ASHE does not collect data on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.
	I attach tables showing Average Gross Weekly Earnings by parliamentary constituency for the years 1997 to 2005 for full-time and part-time employees on adult rates. These statistics are already published on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=13101.
	The ASHE, carried out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It is a one per cent sample of all employees who are members of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) schemes.
	
		Gross weekly pay for all employee jobs(12) by place of work £
		
			  Full-time Part-time 
			 Southend West Median Mean Median Mean 
		
		
			 1997 **281 *342 **105 **132 
			 1998 **285 *352 **107 **143 
			 1999 *317 *372 **126 **154 
			 2000 *306 *342 **110 **142 
			 2001 **321 *384 **136 *159 
			 2002 **356 *426 **128 **148 
			 2003 **318 *382 x **169 
			 2004 **327 *384 x **206 
			 2004(13) **326 *386 x **199 
			 2005 **341 *417 128 **169 
		
	
	(12) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence.
	(13) Includes supplementary survey data.
	Guide to quality:
	The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality.
	The true value is likely to lie within ± twice the CV e.g. for an average of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population average to be within the range 180 to 220.
	Key:
	CV }5 per cent.
	*CV >5 per cent. and }10 per cent.
	**CV >10 per cent. and }20 per cent.
	x Unreliable
	Note:
	The median replaces the mean as the headline statistic. The weighted mean is the sum of the weighted values divided by the sum of the weights. The median is the value below which 50 per cent. of employees fall. It is preferred over the mean for earnings data as it is influenced less by extreme values and because of the skewed distribution of earnings data.
	Source:
	Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics.
	
		Gross weekly pay for all employee jobs(14) by place of residence £
		
			  Full-time Part-time 
			 Southend West Median Mean Median Mean 
		
		
			 1997 (15)— (15)— (15)— (15)— 
			 1998 (15)— (15)— (15)— (15)— 
			 1999 (15)— (15)— (15)— (15)— 
			 2000 (15)— (15)— (15)— (15)— 
			 2001 (15)— (15)— (15)— (15)— 
			 2002 **395 *484 **129 *149 
			 2003 **413 *519 **102 **151 
			 2004 *459 *563 x **144 
			 2004(15) *455 *549 x **143 
			 2005 *490 *577 **143 **198 
		
	
	(14) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence.
	(15) Denotes data not collected before 2002.
	(16) Includes supplementary survey data.
	Guide to quality:
	The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality.
	The true value is likely to lie within ± twice the CV e.g. for an average of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population average to be within the range 180 to 220.
	Key:
	CV }5 per cent.
	*CV >5 per cent. and }10 per cent.
	**CV >10 per cent. and }20 per cent.
	x Unreliable
	Note:
	The median replaces the mean as the headline statistic. The weighted mean is the sum of the weighted values divided by the sum of the weights. The median is the value below which 50 per cent. of employees fall. It is preferred over the mean for earnings data as it is influenced less by extreme values and because of the skewed distribution of earnings data.
	Source:
	Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics.

Income Tax

Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the potential impact on Government income of a starting point for the basic rate of income tax band of (a) £2,200, (b) £2,300, (c) £2,400, (d) £2,500, (e) £2,600, (f) £2,700, (g) £2,800, (h) £2,900, (i) £3,000, (j) £3,100, (k) £3,200, (l) £3,300, (m) £3,400, (n) £3,500 and (o) £4,000.

Ivan Lewis: The information is provided in the table.
	
		Year: 2006–07
		
			 Basic rate threshold (£) Cost (£ billion) 
		
		
			 2,200 0.2 
			 2,300 0.5 
			 2,400 0.8 
			 2,500 1.1 
			 2,600 1.4 
			 2,700 1.7 
			 2,800 2.0 
			 2,900 2.3 
			 3,000 2.6 
			 3,100 2.9 
			 3,200 3.1 
			 3,300 3.4 
			 3,400 3.7 
			 3,500 4.0 
			 4,000 5.4 
		
	
	The Higher rate threshold has not been changed.
	The income tax information is based upon the 2003–04 Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI) and projected forwards in line with 2006 Budget assumptions. The figures exclude any estimate of behavioural response, which could be significant given the scale of the changes.

New Employees (Wirral, West)

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of the extra people in work since the 2005 budget are residents of Wirral West.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 April 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the increase in employment, in the Wirral West Parliamentary Constituency, since the 2005 budget. (64316)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics on numbers in employment for local areas, including parliamentary constituencies, from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
	The latest available APS data refer to the period April 2004 to March 2005, so it is not possible at present to say how many of the total extra people in work, since the 2005 budget, are residents of Wirral West. Statistics from the APS for the period April 2005 to March 2006 are expected to be published in September 2006.

Supervisory and Regulatory Staff

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff were employed in institutions with statutory duties for the (a) supervision and (b) regulation of (i) banks, (ii) insurance companies, (iii) mortgage lenders and (iv) other financial institutions in each year since 1996, broken down by supervisory and regulatory institution and including his Department; and what the cost of such institutions was in each year.

Ivan Lewis: The following table shows the number of staff were employed in institutions with statutory duties for the supervision/regulation of banks, insurance companies, mortgage lenders and other financial institutions since 1996.
	
		
			  Institutions 
			  Self-regulating   
			  organisations  PIAIMROSFA Securities and Investments Board(18) Building Societies Commission Friendly Societies Commission Central Office of the Registry of Friendly Societies Financial Services Authority 
		
		
			 1996–97 n/a n/a n/a n/a (19)168 — 
			 1997–98 n/a n/a n/a n/a (19)162 185 
			 1998–99 — — — — (19)112 (20)1,768 
			 1999–2000 — — — — — — — 4, 52,548 
			 2000–01 — — — — — — — (23)2,156 
			 2001–02 — — — — — — — 7, 82,196 
			 2002–03 — — — — — — — (24)2,288 
			 2003–04 — — — — — — — (24)2,312 
			 2004–05 — — — — — — — (24)2,467 
			 2005–06 — — — — — — — (24)2,826 
		
	
	n/a=Not available.
	(18) Securities and Investments Board—a private limited company formerly reporting to the Chancellor of the Exchequer with responsibility for the regulation of the UK investment market in accordance with the Financial Services Act 1986, was replaced by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in October 1997.
	(19) Government Expenditure Plans 2000–01 to 2001–02 CM 4615.
	(20) FSA Annual Report 1998–99.
	(21) FSA Annual Report 1999–2000.
	(22) In 1998, 1,464 staff transferred from the three SROs, the Bank of England, and FSA(SIB). A further 142 transferred on 1 January 1999 from the Insurance Directorate of HM Treasury, the Registry of Friendly Societies/Friendly Societies Commission/Building Societies Commission and the Treasury Solicitors.
	(23) From the FSA's annual report 2000–01 and was the average number of staff employed by or contracted to work for the FSA.
	(24) Full-time equivalent at 31 March.
	(25) Until 1 December 2001 ('N2'), the date at which the FSA assumed its responsibilities under FSMA, the FSA carried out and provided staff to support, under contract, the supervision and enforcement functions of a number of financial services regulators, including the self-regulating organisations (SROs); SFA, PIA, and IMRO. At N2, all of the functions of these financial regulators were transferred to the FSA when it became the single statutory regulator of financial services in the UK.

Correspondence

Sarah Teather: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs when she will reply to the letters dated (a) 27 October 2005, (b) 30 January 2006 and (c) 9 February 2006 from the hon. Member for Brent, East on access to legal help for Mrs. French-Walsh.

Harriet Harman: My hon. Friend and Member for Lewisham, East, responded to the hon. Member's letters of 30 January and 9 February on 7 March. A copy has been forwarded to her. My Department has no record of receiving her letter of 27 October.

Government Car Service

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Lewes of 13 March 2006, Official Report, column 1886W, on the Government Car Service, what make and model of car has been made available to each Government Minister; how many hours a day a chauffeur is available to them; what the monthly cost is of this provision; and how much is accounted for by (a) running costs of the vehicle, (b) costs of the chauffeur and (c) all other costs.

Stephen Ladyman: The Prime Minister's guidance Travel by Ministers' sets out what official cars are available for ministers. The total contracted cost of providing ministerial cars in 2005–06 was £5,683,100. A breakdown of the figures in the format requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost. However, the contracted costs for each Ministerial department for the year were:
	
		2005–06
		
			 Department Number of cars Annual contracted value (£) 
		
		
			 Cabinet Office(27) 7 446,200 
			 ODPM 6 390,900 
			 DCMS 4 265,500 
			 DfES 7 436,600 
			 DFID 2 124,400 
			 DTI 6 377,800 
			 FCO 4 340,700 
			 Department of Health 6 365,700 
			 HM Treasury 5 330,600 
			 Home Office 7 461,600 
			 DCA 4 268,200 
			 Law Officers 2 127,400 
			 MOD 1 163,800 
			 Northern Ireland Office 5 433,000 
			 Privy Council Office 3 140,200 
			 Scotland Office2, 3 1 58,900 
			 Wales Office(28) 1 72,900 
			 Defra 5 322,800 
			 DfT 4 259,800 
			 DWP 6 396,200 
			 Total 86 5,683,100 
		
	
	(27) Cabinet Office figures include cars for the Prime Minister's Office, the Leader of the House of Lords, the Chief Whip in the House of Commons and the Minister without Portfolio.
	(28) The right hon. Alistair Darling MP is both Secretary of State for Transport and Secretary of State for Scotland. All his GCS costs are met by the Department for Transport. The right hon. Peter Hain MP is both Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Secretary of State for Wales. All his GCS costs are met by the Northern Ireland Office.
	(29) The GCS car and driver provided to the Scotland Office is shared by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, David Cairns MP and the Advocate-General.

Heathrow

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what provision he has made for a public consultation on the revised assumptions to be used in the Stage Two air quality modelling assessments for Heathrow.

Derek Twigg: The air quality technical panels' review of airport-related emissions at Heathrow has been completed and we expect to publish a full report shortly. This will comment on emissions sources and recommend how these can best be represented and modelled in future years. The work has been independently peer reviewed and its findings will inform the next stage of assessment and subsequent consultation.

Ports

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on proposals for a new container port in the United Kingdom; and what estimate he has made of the likely cost.

Stephen Ladyman: Earlier this year the Department approved container terminal developments at Bathside Bay, Harwich, and at Felixstowe. We are aware of three further proposals for significant container port expansion which are at differing stages of the decision-making process. My hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Derek Twigg) also indicated that he was minded to approve the London Gateway proposal; an application for expansion at the Seaforth Terminal on the Mersey will be considered at a public inquiry later this month, and the Department has been given formal notice of an intended application by PD Teesport for their Northern Gateway project.
	Port expansion is funded exclusively from private sector sources and we have made no estimate of the costs.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many stations have been (a) opened and (b) closed on the rail network in each year since 1997; and what the reason was in each case.

Derek Twigg: 39 stations have been opened since 1997 as follows:
	
		
			  Number of stations opened 
		
		
			 2005 8 
			 2004 0 
			 2003 2 
			 2002 3 
			 2001 1 
			 2000 5 
			 1999 5 
			 1998 10 
			 1997 5 
			 Total 39 
		
	
	Four stations have been closed since 1997 and 13 stations have been replaced by either: light rail, tram, or a station in a new location.
	The four stations which have been closed are:
	Etruria in 2005 because the number of passengers using it was low and its retention did not represent good value for money.
	Sinfin North and Sinfin Central in 1998 because passenger demand was low and their retention did not represent good value for money.
	Pendleton station in 1998, which had not been in use since 1994 following severe damage by an arson attack. Passenger demand had been low, prior to the damage, and repair did not represent good value for money.

Roads

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been awarded in compensation to people who have suffered blight from road noise in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency does not breakdown financial information on claims for compensation specifically for noise intrusion, resulting from the use of new or improved trunk roads.
	The following amounts have been awarded by the Highways Agency under part I of the Land Compensation Act 1973 as compensation for the reduction in value of property caused by physical factors (including noise). These gross figures include interest on the compensation and agents' fees:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 1997–98 22.09 
			 1998–99 15.23 
			 1999–2000 26.54 
			 2000–01 31.47 
			 2001–02 29.43 
			 2002–03 25.59 
			 2003–04 49.96 
			 2004–05 29.22 
			 2005–06 48.57 
		
	
	Local highway authorities follow the same statutory process under part I of the Land Compensation Act 1973 for the payment of noise compensation following the construction or alteration of non-trunk roads. Compensation is funded from local authority revenue and is not reflected in figures given to this question.

Strategic Road Network

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many tunnels (a) under and (b) over the strategic road network have been built for the use of (i) animals and (ii) pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders in each year since 1997; and at what total cost in each case.

Stephen Ladyman: The Highways Agency has constructed a total of 92 over-bridges and 47 under-bridges or subways since 1997 at an overall cost of just over £122 million. The number and the costs of each type of crossing are given in the following tables.
	
		
			 Bridge type 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Total 
		
		
			 Bridleway Underbridge 0 1 5 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 9 
			 Bridleway Overbridge 1 3 3 0 1 2 0 4 0 2 16 
			 Footbridge Overbridge 6 13 12 7 4 5 14 4 10 1 76 
			 Pedestrian Subway 1 3 6 1 2 3 13 1 0 3 33 
			 Underpass 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 5 
			 Grand total 9 20 27 8 7 12 27 11 11 7 139 
		
	
	
		
			  £ million 
			 Bridge type 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Grand total 
		
		
			 Bridleway Overbridge 0.482 3.822 2.659 0 1.104 2.287 0 6.146 0 1.698 18.198 
			 Bridleway Underbridge 0 0.619 6.735 0 0 3.824 0 1.269 0 0 12.447 
			 Footbridge Overbridge 7.298 11.962 7.466 4.001 2.470 3.805 9.409 5.736 6.520 2.249 60.916 
			 Pedestrian Subway 0.047 1.794 1.256 0.152 0.398 0.651 5.857 0.384 0 1.405 11.944 
			 Underpass 11.067 0 4.759 0 0 0 0 0.484 0.939 1.332 18.581 
			 Grand Total 18.894 18.197 22.875 4.153 3.972 10.567 15.266 14.019 7.459 6.684 122.086 
		
	
	Structures that are below 900 mm in diameter such as those aimed at supporting bio-diversity are not separately recorded and are therefore not included in the above tables. Such smaller structures are normally delivered as part of much larger schemes.

Transport Subsidies

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on subsidies for (a) rail, (b) air and (c) bus travel in England in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend, the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Ms Buck), on 12 December 2005, Official Report, columns 1621–22W.

Travel to School

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to his Answer of 10 March 2006, Official Report, column 1788W, on travel to school, what percentage of (a) primary and (b) secondary school children travelled to school by (i) walking, (ii) cycling, (iii) bus, (iv) car and (v) another method in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: Data from the National Travel Survey on the percentage of trips in 1996–98 to 2004 made by children travelling to and from school by mode and age are given in the tables.
	
		Trips to and from school(30) by main mode, 1996–98 to 2004, Great Britain Percentage
		
			  Age 5–10 
			  1996–98 1997–99 1998–2000 1999–01 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Walk(31) 55 53 56 54 51 53 50 
			 Bicycle — — — 1 1 1 1 
			 Local/private bus 7 7 7 6 6 6 7 
			 Car/van 36 38 36 39 41 39 41 
			 Other 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 
			 All modes 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 
		
	
	
		Percentage
		
			  Age 11–16 
			  1996–98 1997–99 1998–2000 1999–01 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Walk(31) 43 42 43 43 38 41 44 
			 Bicycle 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 
			 Local/private bus 32 32 32 32 33 32 29 
			 Car/van 21 21 19 19 24 23 22 
			 Other 3 3 4 4 3 3 3 
			 All modes 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 
		
	
	(30) Trips of under 50 miles only.
	(31) Short walks believed to be under-recorded in 2002 and 2003 compared with earlier years.

Travel to School

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage of (a) primary and (b) secondary school children in (i) Southend, (ii) Essex, (iii) the Metropolitan police area of London and (iv) Hertfordshire travel to school by (A) foot, (b) bicycle (C) bus, (D) car and (E) other forms of transport.

Stephen Ladyman: Data from the National Travel Survey on the percentage of trips in 2002–04 made by children travelling to and from school by mode and age in Greater London (including City of London) are given in the table.
	
		Percentage of trips to and from school(32) by age and main mode, Greater London, 2002–04 Percentage
		
			  5 to 10 years 11 to 16 years 
		
		
			 Walk 48 30 
			 Bicycle 0 1 
			 Car/van 41 20 
			 Bus 8 39 
			 Other 1 10 
			 All modes 100 100 
		
	
	(32) Trips of less than 50 miles only.
	Sample sizes are too small to give results for Essex, Hertfordshire or Southend-on-Sea, and are not available for the Metropolitan police area.

World Cup (Complimentary Tickets)

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many complimentary tickets his Department has received for games taking place at the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany.

Derek Twigg: The Department and its Agencies has not received any tickets for the forth-coming FIFA World Cup in Germany.

Social Fund

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the real expenditure on the Social Fund was for each year from 1995–96; how much has been allocated for 2006–07 at 2004–05 prices; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The information is in the tables.
	
		Gross discretionary Social Fund expenditure £ million
		
			  Cash terms Real terms 
		
		
			 1995–96 401 502 
			 1996–97 432 523 
			 1997–98 462 543 
			 1998–99 501 574 
			 1999–2000 555 624 
			 2000–01 601 666 
			 2001–02 647 700 
			 2002–03 654 686 
			 2003–04 687 702 
			 2004–05 699 699 
			 2005–06 742 727 
		
	
	
		Gross discretionary Social Fund allocation £ million
		
			  Cash terms Real terms 
		
		
			 2006–07 842 805 
		
	
	
		Net discretionary Social Fund expenditure £ million
		
			  Cash terms Real terms 
		
		
			 1995–96 138 172 
			 1996–97 133 161 
			 1997–98 125 147 
			 1998–99 139 159 
			 1999–2000 129 145 
			 2000–01 128 142 
			 2001–02 145 156 
			 2002–03 134 140 
			 2003–04 158 161 
			 2004–05 164 164 
			 2005–06 194 190 
		
	
	
		Net discretionary Social Fund allocation £ million
		
			  Cash terms Real terms 
		
		
			 2006–07 298 285 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are for Great Britain.
	2. Real terms refers to 2004–05 prices.
	3. Expenditure in real terms has been calculated using the Gross Domestic Product deflator published on the HM Treasury website. This incorporates outturn data to 2004–05 from the Office for National Statistics, last updated on 29 March 2006, and HM Treasury forecasts consistent with the Budget report 2006.
	4. Expenditure and allocations have been rounded to the nearest £1 million.
	Source:
	DWP Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System.
	The gross discretionary social fund budget has benefited from extra AME funding of £90 million over the years 2003–04 to 2005–06, of which £60 million was invested in the national community care grants budget. The national community care grants budget for 2006–07 is over 45 per cent. higher in cash terms than in 1995–96 and 11 per cent. higher in real terms. Further AME funding totalling £210 million over the next three years 2006–07 to 2008–09 has been given to support changes to the national loans scheme.

Electoral Fraud

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many individuals have been (a) charged and (b) convicted of electoral fraud arising out of the (i) 2005 local government elections, broken down by council area and (ii) 2005 Westminster elections, broken down by constituency.

David Hanson: According to the Electoral Office of Northern Ireland's records one individual has been charged of Electoral fraud in relation to either the 2005 local government elections or the 2005 Westminster General Election. This was in the Coleraine Council area.

Postal and Proxy Votes

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the percentage change was in the number of (a) postal and (b) proxy votes issued for the 2005 (i) local government and (ii) Westminster elections in Northern Ireland by comparison with each of the previous two comparable elections, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

David Hanson: The following tables show the absent votes issued for the 2005, 2001 and 1997 local government and Westminster elections. They compare the percentage change for the years 1997–2005 and 2001–05, with the exception of the proxy figures for the 1997 Westminster elections as the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland does not hold these figures. Statistics for the local government elections have been kept in local government council areas as the information is not available in a parliamentary constituency format.
	
		Westminster elections postal votes
		
			  Postal votes issued Percentage change 
			 Constituency 1997 2001 2005 1997–05 2001–05 
		
		
			 Belfast East 748 933 584 -21.93 -37.41 
			 Belfast North 656 738 570 -13.11 -22.76 
			 Belfast South 694 992 681 -1.87 -31.35 
			 Belfast West 687 609 743 8.15 22.00 
			 East Antrim 559 738 622 11.27 -15.72 
			 East Londonderry 1,750 1,954 1,647 -5.89 -15.71 
			 Fermanagh and South  Tyrone 4,927 4,668 4,559 -7.47 -2.34 
			 Foyle 1,102 1,461 2,515 128.22 72.14 
			 Lagan Valley 1,231 1,392 1,087 -11.70 -21.91 
			 Mid Ulster 3,609 3,114 2,891 -19.89 -7.16 
			 Newry and Armagh 3,021 2,604 1,873 -38 -28.07 
			 North Antrim 1,260 1,499 1,444 14.6 -3.67 
			 North Down 819 935 727 -11.23 -22.25 
			 South Antrim 654 873 711 8.72 -18.56 
			 Strangford 1,057 1,129 861 -18.54 -23.74 
			 Upper Bann 1,561 1,812 1,162 -25.56 -35.87 
			 West Tyrone 3,062 3,431 2,962 -3.27 -13.67 
			 Total 29,844 31,104 27,680 -7.25 -11.01 
		
	
	
		Westminster elections proxy votes
		
			  Proxy votes issued 
			 Constituency 2001 2005 Percentage change 
		
		
			 Belfast East 224 71 -68.30 
			 Belfast North 395 185 -53.16 
			 Belfast South 205 113 -44.88 
			 Belfast West 385 316 -17.92 
			 East Antrim 266 89 -66.54 
			 East Londonderry 489 193 -60.53 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 1,116 1,052 -5.73 
			 Foyle 620 554 -10.65 
			 Lagan Valley 145 118 -18.62 
			 Mid Ulster 1,008 745 -26.09 
			 Newry and Armagh 1,022 779 -23.78 
			 North Antrim 278 270 -2.88 
			 North Down 265 91 -65.66 
			 South Antrim 329 114 -65.35 
			 South Down 752 502 -33.24 
			 Strangford 248 103 -58.47 
			 Upper Bann 256 155 -39.45 
			 West Tyrone 2,012 1,247 -38.02 
			 Total 10,015 6,697 -33.13 
		
	
	Note:
	1997 Proxy data not available
	
		District council elections postal votes
		
			  Postal votes issued Percentage change 
			 District council 1997 2001 2005 1997–05 2001–05 
		
		
			 Derry 1,219 1,461 2,512 106.07 71.94 
			 Limavady 733 770 651 -11.19 -15.45 
			 Coleraine 997 1,184 994 -0.3 -16.05 
			 Ballymoney 396 408 472 19.19 15.69 
			 Moyle 273 187 246 -9.89 31.55 
			 Larne 203 302 232 14.29 -23.18 
			 Ballymena 674 904 726 7.72 -19.69 
			 Magherafelt 1,111 1,086 1,053 -5.22 -3.04 
			 Cookstown 2,061 1,567 871 -57.74 -44.42 
			 Strabane 1,307 1,315 1,086 -16.91 -17.41 
			 Omagh 1,773 2,093 1,417 -20.08 -32.30 
			 Fermanagh 3,399 2,835 2,195 -35.42 -22.57 
			 Dungannon 2,431 2,296 2,096 -13.78 -8.71 
			 Craigavon 1,155 1,206 778 -32.64 -35.49 
			 Armagh 2,241 1,710 1,122 -49.93 -34.39 
			 Newry & Mourne 2,331 1,628 1,436 -38.40 -11.79 
			 Banbridge 1,323 1,185 832 -10.43 -29.79 
			 Down 1,645 1,385 1,275 -37.11 -7.94 
			 Lisburn 986 1,147 906 -8.11 -21.01 
			 Antrim 376 474 340 -9.57 -28.27 
			 Newtownabbey 394 589 520 31.98 -11.71 
			 Carrickfergus 247 332 268 8.50 -19.28 
			 North Down 590 816 634 7.46 -22.30 
			 Ards 580 530 620 6.90 16.98 
			 Castlereagh 364 678 493 35.44 -27.29 
			 Belfast 2,180 2,756 2,153 -1.24 21.88 
			 Total 30,989 30,844 22,159 -28.49 -28.16 
		
	
	
		District council elections proxy votes
		
			  Proxy votes issued Percentage change 
			 District council 1997 2001 2005 1997–05 2001–05 
		
		
			 Derry 693 620 554 -20.06 -10.65 
			 Limavady 198 265 93 -53.03 -64.91 
			 Coleraine 297 224 100 -66.33 -55.36 
			 Ballymoney 66 73 91 37.88 24.66 
			 Moyle 107 63 92 -14.02 46.03 
			 Larne 70 109 25 -64.29 -77.06 
			 Ballymena 177 142 87 -19.77 -38.73 
			 Magherafelt 791 434 459 -50.85 5.76 
			 Cookstown 478 256 9 -79.50 -61.72 
			 Strabane 762 801 505 -33.73 -36.95 
			 Omagh 892 1,211 742 -16.82 -38.73 
			 Fermanagh 807 762 876 8.56 14.96 
			 Dungannon 966 668 309 -68.01 -53.74 
			 Craigavon 266 187 132 -50.38 -29.41 
			 Armagh 733 426 236 -67.80 -44.60 
			 Newry and Mourne 1,198 950 826 -31.05 -13.05 
			 Banbridge 202 121 68 -66.34 -43.80 
			 Down 518 391 197 -61.97 -49.62 
			 Lisburn 200 702 150 -25.00 -78.63 
			 Antrim 127 183 22 82.67 -87.98 
			 Newtownabbey 188 238 32 -82.98 -86.55 
			 Carrickfergus 119 113 15 -87.39 -86.73 
			 North Down 175 241 77 -56 -68.05 
			 Ards 147 158 58 -60.55 -63.29 
			 Castlereagh 97 155 73 -24.74 -52.90 
			 Belfast 710 1,039 583 -17.89 -43.89 
			 Total 10,984 10,532 5,716 -47.96 -45.73

Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the current employer contribution rates to the Principal Civil Service pension scheme are; what assumed rate of return underlies those contribution rates; and what the contribution rate would be if the assumed rate of return was in line with current redemption yield on index-linked gilts.

Peter Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office (Mr. Murphy) on 29 March 2006, Official Report, column 1031W.

Chronic Hepatitis B

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding has been made available for research into the hepatitis B virus.

Jane Kennedy: The main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body funded by the Department of Trade and Industry via the Office of Science and Technology.
	Expenditure by the MRC on research directly concerned with hepatitis B infection has been as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Amount 
		
		
			 2001–02 1 
			 2002–03 1.2 
			 2003–04(38) 1.2 
		
	
	(38) Information in respect of later years is not yet available.
	The research undertaken by the MRC on hepatitis generally and hepatitis C may also be of relevance.
	The Department funds research to support policy and to provide the evidence needed to underpin quality improvement and service development in the national health service. The Department's national research programme spend since 2001 on projects related to hepatitis B has been £81,000.
	Over 75 per cent. of the Department's total expenditure on health research is devolved to and managed by NHS organisations. Details of individual projects, including a number concerned with hepatitis B infection, can be found on the national research register on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/research.

Medical Research

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) budget of the Medical Research Council and (b) the NHS research and development budget has been in each year since 1997–98 in (i) real and (ii) nominal terms.

Jane Kennedy: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Medical Research  Council NHS Research and  Development 
			  (39)Cash (40)Real terms Cash (41)Real terms 
		
		
			 1997–98 289 347 426 511 
			 1998–99 290 339 420 491 
			 1999–2000 305 349 434 498 
			 2000–01 319 361 448 507 
			 2001–02 350 386 475 525 
			 2002–03 372 398 506 542 
			 2003–04 430 448 533 556 
			 2004–05 458 468 601 614 
			 2005–06 503 503 617 617 
		
	
	(39) figures for years to 2000–01 are cash based and for later years are expenditure based
	(40) 2005–06 cash equivalent calculated using the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflator
	(41) 2005–06 cash equivalent calculated using the GDP deflator

Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what average time it has taken for an application for (a) a new and (b) a variation of a medicine to be approved by the Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency.

Jane Kennedy: The most recent full-year figures for new medicines approval times by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) are for 2004–05. These show an average approval time, from receipt of the application to grant of the licence, of 288 calendar days. This period however includes the time taken by applicants to supply any necessary new or correcting information following the initial assessment of their application. When this is taken into account the actual number of net working days taken by the MHRA reduces to an average of 122 days.
	For the relatively small number of completely new medicines, for example those containing new drugs and with the potential for meeting unmet medical needs in major diseases, the MHRA, during the same period, has maintained its record of assessing these in under 40 days.
	For all types of variations to product licences, whether straightforward or complex, and again in the most recent full year for which figures are available, 2004–05, the average time taken to approve, from receipt of the application to grant of the variation, was 67 calendar days. This includes time taken waiting for the company to provide any further information needed.
	More recent figures show a lengthening of assessment and approval times. For example, for the first seven months of 2005–06 (April to October) the approval time for new product licences had increased to 153 net working days or 404 gross calendar days.
	These exceed the MHRA's assessment and approval target times and it is well aware of the impact this is having on pharmaceutical company business. This lengthening of assessment and approval times has been caused by a combination of adverse factors including increases in workload, difficulties in recruiting professional assessment staff, especially medically-qualified staff, and transitional implementation problems during the introduction of a new information management system.
	The MHRA is taking a number of steps to improve service levels. These include organisational restructuring, additional recruitment, re-training of staff, voluntary schemes for extended working hours, and information system performance enhancements.

Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the methods used by the Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency to approve new medicines.

Jane Kennedy: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approves new medicines for marketing in the United Kingdom and is required to follow procedures set out in European legislation. The basis of its licensing decisions is its assessment of the data provided by companies attesting to the quality, safety and efficacy of their new product. This assessment is carried out by professionally qualified and experienced staff in the fields of medicine, toxicology, pharmacy and other scientific disciplines relevant to the product under review. The MHRA is a benchmark agency within the European Community for the quality of its assessments and processes and is recognised as a leading player in European medicines licensing.
	The MHRA assessment process and decision-making is supported by internationally recognised technical guidelines and, where necessary, by external expert advice.
	The MHRA's business procedures are subjected to internal and external audit as part of its risk management and corporate governance procedures. The MHRA's directors and managers are required to keep their processes under constant review and to strive to make year-on-year efficiency and effectiveness improvements.